Hello There
Having just reread an old MS I wrote eighteen months ago to send off to Carina Press (it originally got a revise and resubmit from Harlequin but was never heard of again...) I noticed that the sex scenes felt rather rushed, as if I had hurtled through writing them. This, along with a post on Kaily Hart's blog, got me to thinking about my own personal inhibitions when it comes to writing the lurve scenes. Since writing that particual MS I have completed three more (and abandoned a couple of others half-way) and so I've had a read of the sex scenes in those. The more recent ones certainly felt, to me, a lot more confident and I think the main reason for this is that I've finally managed to get the image of my mum reading them out of my head. I honestly do not think my mum will ever read any of my books whether they get published or not. My mum is not a 'reader', which in itself is weird as I've been a bookworm since I chucked my dolls out of my cot and cuddled my books to sleep!
Anyway, now that I have ridded myself of that mental image, I've found tackling the sex scenes less of a terrifying event to be dreaded and more of a natural part of the storytelling process. I've always preferred the steamier romances - I once read a 'straight' romance and felt very short-changed when there was no bedroom action so it took me a long time to understand why I felt so daunted writing about such a fundamental, natural part of life. Not any more!
So, was it just me? Or has anyone else had a stumbling block over a particular writing issue?
Take care, Michelle x
Hey, I understand the mum reading it issue-it does make you think eek!! It sounds terrible, but to help me I imagine all the scenes in movies/tb/books that I felt let down by. That sounds awful-but what I mean is, I try and envision what would have given the scene more weight with me, and aim for that feel in my own scenes. Writing about familiar characters helps too-then sub yours. Sound s weird but it works. :D
ReplyDeleteIt's what to call his and her bits that stumps me-:D I don't like crass language, it pulls me from a story, but you don;t want to get overly poetic either!!!
Eeek! I don't feel up to writing them, how sad is that. Lucky for me I don't have to for the line I'm targeting. I definitely agree with you it's the thought of my mother reading it, but also the comment from my sister-in-law that if I got published would she be reading what her brother gets up to? Yeuck!!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Okay- the thought of my mother and my daughters reading what I wrote makes me cringe, but you know what? It's not geared toward them. I write what I feel is true to my characters and what I want the reader to experience.
ReplyDeleteFantasy is a great way to play out a love scene. Writing romance fiction is really living in a pretend world for a while. I've found that "researching" a love scene is best when done through my characters. Her hangups, his patience, her coming out of her shell with his gentle nature, the uninhibited reaction to the passion...it's all relative to the characters and storyline for me! Sitting back, closing my eyes and letting the scene play out in my mind works wonders for getting it down on paper.
Ideally personal research would be best, but our heroes are otherwise engaged. XD